


Phasing Out

by Stormcutter13



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff, thats p much it my dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-10 00:05:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11679900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormcutter13/pseuds/Stormcutter13
Summary: Lapis and Amethyst take a bath together to help with Lapis's aquaphobia





	Phasing Out

**Author's Note:**

> wow i managed to write something other than angst for once  
> it's only teen because of a couple suggestive comments lmao  
> sorry, its not too long, but im pretty proud of it and i didnt wanna add unnecessary length  
> i hope you enjoy!

“Are you sure about this?” Lapis asks.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Amethyst sticks her hand in the water only to pull it out a second later. “It's just for a couple minutes, and it's not like it's the ocean. Plus it's nice and warm!” She shakes the excess water off of her hand and turns the faucet off.

Lapis has slowly been trying to get used to being around water again, but it’s been a process. When she and Peridot had “remodeled” the barn, she'd purposefully added a miniature aquarium on the broken wall to help get over her aquaphobia. It had been nerve-racking at first, but now that it had been there for a while it could be relaxing to see the fish swimming by. She still can't be around the ocean for more than a few minutes before panic starts to settle in, but she feels like she’s improving, even if her progress is slow. But, well, even if she is getting better, she hasn't actually tried staying in water for any amount of time, and she's not sure if she's entirely ready.

Amethyst had already done all this work though. Even if it was mostly just shooing Steven out of the house, telling him if he needed to “go,” the ocean was right there, and finding an absurd number of towels to pile on the floor, it was still an amount of effort that Amethyst usually didn't put into much of anything. Lapis could appreciate that, and even if she was a little uncomfortable, she probably did need to be pushed in the right direction. This could be good for her.

“You don't gotta like, dunk your head under, dude.” Amethyst flashes her those big doe eyes that she makes when she's trying to feign innocence, “Pleeeeaaaase?”

Lapis sighs, “Fine. But just for a couple minutes.”

Amethyst grins before quickly phasing off her clothing, and clamoring into the tub with a faint splash. “Hell yeah, lemme see the tiddy.” She winks, and Lapis rolls her eyes.

“Is that really necessary?” She moves toward the tub, ready to get in with her clothes still on, but Amethyst holds out a hand to stop her.

“Yeah it's ‘necessary’! Ya can't take a bath with your clothes on.”

“Why not?” Lapis tries to get in again, but Amethyst pushes her back.

“’Cuz baths are a human thing, and humans don't wear clothes in the bath. Duh.” Now Amethyst is the one rolling her eyes, “C’mon, ‘when in Rome’ and all that.”

“What's ‘Rome’.” Lapis deadpans, more of a protest than a question.

“You gonna get naked with me or what?”

Lapis feels like she's missing some second meaning to that phrase, but she's accepted that that's just how things are with Amethyst. She sighs again, but phases off her clothes anyway.

“Nice.” Amethyst winks at her, and Lapis feels her face flushing unpleasantly. “Come on in, the water’s nice.”

Slowly Lapis steps into the water, taking her sweet time and trying not to visibly shake. She thanks the stars that the bathtub isn't that deep, and the water doesn't rise up to her knee. Actually, it barely creeps halfway up her shin, but when she looks down, she sees that the water is curving like a bowl, with the lowest part lapping at her physical form, and the highest part creeping past the walls of the tub and starting to slosh onto the floor. Whoops; she must have unconsciously been using her powers so the water touched her as little as possible.

“You trying to drown me there, Lappy? Because I don't think that'll work too great.”

Lapis sputters out some nervous laughter in reply, and makes a conscious effort to level out the water. Amethyst doesn't press her further as the water gem reluctantly lowers herself into the tub. She has to get used to everywhere the water touches when she moves, so it takes her a while to move from standing to kneeling, from kneeling to sitting, and finally from sitting to laying down and allowing the water to cover her body from her toes to midway up her back. She is not going to let the water touch her gem; that's far too much. When Lapis is finally situated, Amethyst wraps her arms around Lapis’s stomach and pulls her close.

“See? It's not too bad.” Amethyst mumbles softly before pressing her lips gently against Lapis’s gem. Lapis shivers at the sensation and melts slightly into the other gem’s touch.

She’s right, though; it isn’t that bad. The water, that is. It's not like the ocean at all; the bath water is pleasantly warm, it doesn't burn like the icy ocean currents, and despite small ripples from her or Amethyst’s movements, the water is still and calm. It feels actually somewhat pleasant.

If she was alone, she probably wouldn't be this calm, though. Amethyst’s arms reassure her, and while she knows she can break out of her grasp if she needs to, she feels oddly… protected. It's a nice feeling. It lets her accept the water pressure around her waist and thighs and the rest of her, so she can actually feel at ease. This used to be her element, where she felt most comfortable, and maybe it can be again.

She doesn't know how long passes before Amethyst says, “You wanna get out? If I was a human I'd be all pruney by now.”

She doesn't know what “pruney” means, since a prune is an earth fruit, but she nods and gets up anyway. Lapis doesn't even bother phasing her clothes back on as she exits the bathtub, and instead flops over onto the very generous pile of towels Amethyst had gathered earlier.

Amethyst laughs. “You good, dude?”

There's a soft “clunk” and Lapis hears water rushing out of the bathtub and down into the ground. She groans and buries her face into a sandy brown towel. Lapis could take a nap right here and no one would be the wiser. She doesn’t really feel like exerting effort for much of anything, because even if it hadn’t been as bad as she’d expected, she’d still just submerged a large portion of her body in water. She just wants to lay here and let the air dry the water from her physical form like gems without water powers would. Then she feels Amethyst’s foot poke her side, and she realizes that instead, she could use the leftover water on her body to her advantage, and she quickly forms a thin strand of water, wraps it around Amethyst’s leg, and drags her down so she falls onto the towel pile with an indignant yelp.

“Hey, what gives?” She grumbles. Lapis can only laugh as she rolls onto her back and sees a very flustered Amethyst lying next to her. Amethyst squints and moves to retaliate, but they're interrupted by a voice from outside the bathroom.

“Hey guys?” Steven’s voice is muffled through the door, “Are you done? I kinda have to get ready for bed.”

“Crud.” Amethyst grumbles and faceplants on the towels.

“Yeah, just a minute.” Lapis replies, her voice still bubbly with suppressed laughter. As she phases her clothes back on and helps Amethyst up, all she can think is how she might actually want to do this again, as long as Amethyst is here with her.


End file.
